The Yakuza Code Still Lives

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

October 2003 •English

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.

Brother

December 2000 •English

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

Under the Open Sky

February 2021 •Japanese

Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.

A Family

January 2021 •Japanese

Taken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.

Three Pretty Devils

June 1970 •Japanese

A trio of teenage tarts try to earn money through shoplifting and prostitution scams and get into deep trouble.

An Ode to Yakuza

July 1970 •Japanese

Tatematsu Minoru, a yakuza belonging to the Ishikawa group that runs the Shinjuku area, has a beautiful sister named Akane. He dreams of sending her to college and turning her into a perfect young lady. He's extremely fond of Akane. His fondness for her goes beyond how he feels about his mistress, Kanae. And yet, Akane feels alone. Now, a new tutor comes into her life that seems to have taken a liking to her...

Daughter of Time

December 1980 •Japanese

A member of the jieitai ("Self-Defense Force"; i.e. Japanese military) is on leave and finds a woman giving birth in a graveyard in the former Yoshiwara district. He takes her to an inn to gove birth, and stays on a few days as she recovers, but becomes fascinated with the strange people he meets there, particularly the owner, who visits a house in his courtyard every day to talk and give food to his mother. He says she is very sick and can't leave bed, but no one else has ever been inside or seen her.

Black Rain

September 1989 •English

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Account of the Ando Gang: Tale of a Scarface

January 1997 •Japanese

“Gunro no keifu” is known as “Tale of a Scarface.” It follows the life of Kumoro, a yakuza member, who recently is released from prison after serving 14 years for his Family. Upon his return he finds the various yakuza syndicates on the brink of war. Kumoro is, at first, removed from the dealings of the families by his Boss, but slowly he is drawn back into his old ways.

Motorpsycho!

August 1965 •English

A biker gang, led by a Vietnam veteran, rapes a veterinarian's wife. When the man decides to seek revenge and hunt down the perpetrators himself, he ends up joining forces with a Cajun woman whose husband they killed.

Overkill

December 1987 •English

A Tokyo cop is sent to Los Angeles to help an LAPD detective break up a yakuza ring operating in the city.

Fireworks

October 1997 •Japanese

Detective Nishi is relieved from a stakeout to visit his sick wife in hospital. He is informed that she is terminally ill, and is advised to take her home. During his visit, a suspect shoots one detective dead and leaves Nishi's partner, Horibe, paralyzed. Nishi leaves the police force to spend time with his wife at home, and must find a way to pay off his debts to the yakuza.

Hell Dogs

September 2022 •Japanese

Bent on revenge, a traumatized ex-police officer must infiltrate a yakuza organization by befriending one of the group's most unhinged members.

Shizukanaru Don: Yakuza Side Story

April 1991 •Japanese

The Viper Brothers: 18 Extortion Threats

August 1972 •Japanese

Part 4 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. Sugawara tries to overcome a traumatic experience of getting in bed blindfolded with a girl who turned out to be an old granny. Later he and Kawaji try to settle down in a neighbourhood harassed by businessman yakuza Bin Amatsu.

The Scoundler vs. The Viper Brothers

August 1974 •Japanese

A crossover between Wakayama's Gokudo and Sugawara Mamushi series. Gokudo runs a restaurant and makes Takuzo Kawatani his kitchen bitch. He tries to do the same for the Mamushi bros. but the boys don't play along, which pisses Gokudo off. Things get worse when he starts helping a young teacher and Bunta has a crush on a pretty girl... and unbeknownst to them it's the same woman! Yes, the film has not one but two romantic subplots! Of course it all ends in bloodshed.

A Scarred Life

July 1971 •Japanese

Set in Osaka, during the devastated time of post-war Japan, this is a tale of the yakuza who set about rebuilding after the death of their Oyabun (big boss). Battles erupt as tempers explode as someone seeks to fill the seat of power.

Wasabi

October 2001 •French

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.

Revenge

May 1999 •English

Detective Tsukimoto kills his partner following a botched robbery and falls deep into debt and despair. After losing everything at the horse races, he is kidnapped by yakuza and offered a chance to clear his debts by putting his life on the line in a game called Cambodia Roulette.

Tokyo Tribe

August 2014 •Japanese

In an alternate Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. The simmering tension between them is about to boil over into all-out war.